NT Encore: King Lear (12A)

Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two ageing fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends.

Metro ‘In Jonathan Munby’s thriller-paced and intimate production, McKellen meticulously explores Lear’s delusions of grandeur. The transformation from monarch to shuffling wreck is a complete portrait of decline, not just of a man, but of a nation too.’★★★★

I Newspaper ‘When a performance is as voraciously anticipated as Ian McKellen’s portrayal of King Lear there is an inevitable risk that reality must defeat expectation. But McKellen does not disappoint…. The modern setting, raw and visually potent, reinforces the enduring relevance of Shakespeare’s emotional truth.’★★★★★